Your child has finally come home after a long week of high-stakes testing. They immediately go to their room to take a nap, announcing they never want to go to school again.

Problem: Your child has finally come home after a long week of high-stakes testing. They immediately go to their room to take a nap, announcing they never want to go to school again. Of course, that’s not an option. There’s still more than a month left of the school year.

Solution: Letting your child mail it in for the remainder of the school year can still have detrimental effects. Grades can slip. Future prospects could be at risk. Summer school might be necessary.

Although it’s primarily the role of the teacher to keep the students engaged through this lame duck period, you can also help by:

Remaining vigilant
Staying in touch with the teacher
Organizing fun, educational activities at home
Giving them something to look forward to

Remain vigilant

It’s easy for you to start mailing it in. The good habits you got into during the school year, like regularly checking your child’s planner and homework, are easy to slip out of. This is the time to check those things even more thoroughly than you did before. If you think they’ll start to slip, you’ll want to catch them in time.

Stay in touch with the teacher

Nothing serves as a better reminder to the teacher that you’re still paying attention like the quick email or phone call. Even if you don’t notice anything out of the ordinary, it doesn’t hurt to drop a note asking if there is any way you can help during the last month of school. You might even have an opportunity to volunteer for some fun end-of-the-year activities.

Organize fun, educational activities

Allowing your child to veg out in front of the TV might seem like common sense after the ordeal they just went through, but it’s not very productive. If they have summer plans, it will be hard to ramp them back up into being active. Instead, now’s the time to book that trip to the museum, art gallery, or nature walk. Keep their brain engaged, even if it’s not working hard at school.

Give them something to look forward to

Yes, they are probably looking forward to the last day of school and summer, but after testing there’s really nothing else to prepare for. They can’t think as far in advance as the start of the new school year. Make sure you remind them about the fun trips you (hopefully) have planned for the summer, the job or internship they are going to start, or the camp they are going to attend. That will help them stay focused on the finish line.

Some toys are coming to market that feature actual robots that can be programmed by kids to perform basic functions.

There has been no shortage of pages devoted to the importance of our children learning not only computing skills, but computer science. Namely, how to code.

Let’s look at an example. Say someone is “handy” around the house, comfortable with basic carpentry, electrical, and plumbing repairs. As our houses and appliances get smarter, the handy person of tomorrow will be able to alter the code of the machines. That’s not even to mention the employment prospects of a coder, even in today’s market.

What can you do? Here are some simple resources that can help you introduce your child to the world of coding.

At-home robots

Some toys are coming to market that feature actual robots that can be programmed by kids to perform basic functions. Believe it or not, some of them aren’t very expensive (the LEGO Mindstorms EV3, on the other hand, is). Here’s a good collection of such toys from Amazon.

Snap circuits

Snap circuits are basic electrical engineering and logic projects that kids can complete without needing to solder anything. The circuits just snap into a board and can be used to create anything from a doorbell to a motion detector. Even younger elementary students can be successful (and enjoy it). Here’s one example, but there are plenty others.

Hour of Code

Although the annual Hour of Code event has passed (it’s held in December), their website still has plenty of resources to help a child get started in coding. The website is designed for computer science teachers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t steal good ideas.

Code Monkey Planet

Code Monkey Planet is a board game. How does it help kids learn to code? Because the game is based in Boolean logic and conditional statements, much like those that would go into a coding project. You also don’t have the intimidation factor of sitting in front of a blank screen.

Code Combat

Code Combat is an alternative for older kids that actually teaches them how to code Javascript (the language of the world wide web and many apps). They first learn the basics, then are set against other players on the website in an effort to guide their digital robot to victory. The business model of the website is to remain free by charging companies to come recruit their players. Yep, playing games can actually get your child a job.

There was an op-ed in the New York Times last month about “free-range parenting”, the idea that we should return to those times of roaming and finding things to do for yourself.

My daughter came home from school one day this week excited about her upcoming string of ice skating lessons. We had signed her up earlier in the month. She really enjoys skating and wants to get better—rare for a Florida girl.

“I also want to learn guitar… and piano!”

She’s in kindergarten.

Although her mother and I want to keep feeding this brain of hers that constantly wants new knowledge, we’re worried about the common pitfalls of overscheduling her. Will she get stressed out? Will she get tired of an activity in which she shows promise? Will we have spent a lot of money for nothing?

According to the Census Bureau, 57 percent of children 6-17 participate in at least one after-school activity. It didn’t say anything about three.

When the topic of overscheduling their children comes up, many parents have a similar refrain: this is the 21st century. Children cannot roam around the neighborhood like we did. Supervised activities are the replacement for unstructured play.

There was an op-ed in the New York Times last month about “free-range parenting”, the idea that we should return to those times of roaming and finding things to do for yourself. The author and his family had recently moved to Washington, DC from Berlin, where apparently packs of kids still pound the pavement. They were shocked in the fact that their kids couldn’t find any other children to play with in the neighborhood—they were all inside.

He brings up a good point. In 1999, there were only 115 children who were kidnapped by someone other than a family member, the worst nightmare and what these structured schedules are designed to combat. In the same year, nearly 3,000 children died in car accidents as passengers. You’re actually putting your child more at risk by driving them around to all of these activities.

Like most things in life, the answer is balance. If your child truly loves whatever activities they are in, keep facilitating those opportunities. My personal measure would be whether or not the child practices without being told.

An article from Psychology Today listed some other things to keep in mind:

Time for unstructured play – Kids need time to make things up, establish relationships with other children and negotiate how they are going to play together.

Self-awareness – They also need time to think, about themselves, their friends and family, and the world in general. In other words, quiet time.

Family relationships – Too many activities can cut into the time the family spends together (driving from sports to lessons doesn’t count). If you can do the activity together, that’s perfect.

Do you have a goal when picking a summer camp for your child?

Depending on the goal, selecting the right summer camp for your child might be just as important as choosing a school. And that’s the first key: having a goal.

Have a goal

If your goal is to simply keep your child occupied over the summer break, every camp will fit that bill and your choice is quite simple. However, the choices narrow down if you and your child want to accomplish something different.

Want to fight summer brain drain? Many local schools are now offering academic camps that explore fun subjects like astronomy or robotics. If it’s something your child is interested in, it won’t seem like school. On the other hand, if the goal is communing with nature or learning life skills, a more traditional camp is for you.

Solicit opinions—but not too many

Word of mouth is always your best resource in finding anything, but summer camps are different than finding a landscaper. The personalities of both the parents and their child have to be weighed with their advice. Their idea of success, or their child’s ideas of fun, might be completely divergent from your own. Listen to the people you have the most in common with.

Know your child

Perhaps you’ve already run into the scenario of your child wanting to try a new club or sport just because their friends are. They then hate it and want to quit. The same principle applies to camp, except that there might be an even larger investment required and a reduced ability to quit.

Separation anxiety? Don’t send them to an overnight camp. Has never shown an interest in science? That astronomy or robotics camp won’t work out. Never been athletically inclined? Now’s not the time to try basketball camp. Summer might seem like a low-risk way of trying a new activity or hobby, but if it doesn’t work out your child will be miserable and will have wasted a summer.

Take a tour

For some reason, very few people think about taking a tour of prospective summer camps. You wouldn’t think of choosing a school without seeing the facilities and meeting some of the staff. Just because summer camp is one-third the length of school doesn’t mean you don’t make an effort.